VOA标准英语2014--Radio Hams Keep 'Queen Mary' Wireless on the Air

 

Radio Hams Keep 'Queen Mary' Wireless¹ on the Air

LOS ANGELES — The Queen Mary, an ocean liner that once sailed the North Atlantic, is now permanently² berthed³ in Long Beach, California, where it's a tourist attraction and hotel. In one of the rooms aboard the ship, the tradition of ship-to-shore wireless operations is continued and visitors are introduced to the hobby of ham radio.

A young visitor recently got an introduction to Morse code, the system of dots and dashes once used for wireless communication. Amateur radio operators, called "hams," still use it today.

The Queen Mary was the pride of the Cunard Line after its 1936 launch, and is now a popular tourist attraction.

The wireless room preserves the ocean liner's communications hub. Queen Mary Commodore Everette Hoard⁴ said it was a lifeline in emergencies, providing two-way messages -- ship to shore.

“And not only did they carry several transmitters for transmitting the ship's business, they also, even in 1936, had radio-telephone service,” said Hoard.

Today, volunteers from the local amateur radio club show off old equipment and operate new gear, as they talk to hams around the world.

“Just chit-chat, back and forth⁵, some of them for hours at a time, many on voice, some of them even on Morse code,” said wireless room manager David Akins.

Volunteer Kurt Freitag said the wireless station is popular with visitors and hams overseas.

“When we get out there and say, this is W6RO, our call letters, we get a pile up.  People go, that's the Queen Mary, and they all jump in, talk to me, talk to me, no talk to me,” said Frietag.

Ham operators help with communications in disasters, from earthquakes and hurricanes to winter ski accidents.

The man who helped create the ship's ham radio operation, Nate Brightman, said helping⁶ in emergencies is an important part of the hobby.

“That's the big reason that the government is so nice to amateur radio operators and gives us all these frequencies to use, because we serve the public. It's a hobby and it's a lot of fun, but it's also very valuable to the country,” said Brightman.

These volunteer radio operators are continuing the heritage of seaborne communication on board the Queen Mary, reaching out to visitors to the ship and radio enthusiasts⁷ worldwide.

1 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

2 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

3 berthed   

v.停泊( berth的过去式和过去分词 )；占铺位

参考例句：

• The ship is berthed at Southampton. 船停泊在南安普敦。
• We berthed our ship at dusk. 黄昏时分我们在泊位停船。 来自辞典例句

4 hoard   

n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积

参考例句：

• They have a hoard of food in the basement.地下室里有他们贮藏的食物。
• How many curios do you hoard in your study?你在你书房里聚藏了多少古玩？

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册